My favorite blog reads from others:

There were many great things written this year, but I’m highlighting five posts that I enjoyed, written by my friends. I’ve provided a short excerpt from each, but click on the title to read each post in its entirety.

Remember the history, the memories, the other times your friend cared instead of commented. If she remains by your side, shows you love, forgiveness, keeps her promises to you, or shows up when you need her, than relax. Release her from “liking” every single thing you post. It is not fair to you or your friend. You are asking the impossible.

Resist the temptation to judge someone’s level of affection from a lack of their momentary affirmation.

Loyalty is not reflected in a “thumbs up” or in a “smiley face.” The only symbol that does reflect loyalty is a cross shaped one.

A wise friend challenged me. She said rest is an act of trust – trust that God’s got all the plates I’m spinning and I can soak in a bubble bath with a large glass of wine without worrying.

She was right.

But for me that trust needs to be intentional. Trust, and therefore rest, won’t happen by themselves. They won’t happen unless I INTENTIONALLY trust God. It’s an act of my will, something I need to choose to step into.

I will count it among my best; resting comfortably in the arms of a Father who adores me, a God who knows this momma’s wounds. A Savior who is fully aware of my distresses, certain of exactly where and how my son is right now… at this moment, under the same sky, 1000 miles away; if not for the hurts of this day – would I recount all the joy?

If not for the rollercoaster of titles; mom, mommy, foster-mom… mother of the bride… military mom – would I be able to recall every moment of this day? Fresh out of tears, swollen eyes, stuffy nose, here on the sofa documenting a date that must be saved.

Entering into God’s rest is choosing to believe over and over that we are safe and secure in His love. And we can enter into His rest any time of day, no matter where we are, who we are with, or whatever is going on around us.

Spiritual rest is not a place, but a person and His name is Jesus.

Your favorite reads from my blog:

According to the stats, these five posts from my blog were the readers’ favorites.

The easy A is yours. That which you are striving for has already been done.

You can stop studying. You can stop counting. You can rest.

You don’t gain or lose your value based on how you perform. You don’t lose your edge as you age.

Since you are in Christ, by faith, you have 100% approval because of the finished work of Christ.

It’s like you are receiving the perfect score that has been accomplished by the star pupil. Jesus’ perfect sacrifice and your acceptance of it, declares you righteous. Your bad marks are gone—as far as the east is from the west—your sins are forgiven, forever.

Something amazing happened when I turned 40 last September. Almost overnight, I stopped wearing makeup so often. In fact, there are more days that I go without it.

This might seem like a trivial admission, but it was the result of a significant internal transformation. You see, other people’s perception of me dictated much of my life up until this point. I slaved away, trying to look good on the outside and the inside through image management and behavior modification. That is, until I discovered the best beauty secret of all time…

Your friend doesn’t want to burden you, so she tends to hide how she’s really feeling. She wants to listen to you and help you but every once in awhile she wants to be heard. Sometimes she makes a hurt or need known, but sometimes others don’t really know what to do with that.

She loves to be in your corner. Truly. But sometimes her corner feels lonely.

When she’s out in front or in charge, or throwing confetti to celebrate others, she gets weary sometimes. She enjoys doing those things, but every so often let her be the recipient of the celebration.

He can part the seas whenever He is so inclined, He can redirect us when we’re ready to fall off the edge. He can hold us up when we are falling apart. He is faithful when we are faithless. He is strong when we are weak. He is so kind to keep us on course as we walk out our calling.

This vulnerable post is about a challenging time in our early marriage, where we found ourselves in a place we hadn’t planned on.

Our five-year plan frayed at the edges.

We experienced ups and downs during this season, like the surging waves of my post-natal hormones. But, finally, it seemed like things were steadying out and calming down. It looked like Adam was a shoo-in for a youth leader job and we were waiting on the details of a financial package. Adam stopped applying for other jobs because we felt confident that God was leading us to this one. We anxiously anticipated the phone call that the church was indeed going to hire him…

Your worth is not measured by the number of homemade birthday cakes you make. Your value is not based on whether or not you run a half marathon. Your home decorating skills, or lack thereof, are not what determines your success. Where did this idea come from, that today’s mom needs to be an expert at everything?

We could blame it on reality TV shows or pretty n’ perfect Pinterest boards. Regardless, it’s time to throw off this notion that we should be experts at every domestic and marketplace skill.

I’m confident there is liberation waiting on the flip side of this “I’m every woman” mentality.

It’s vulnerable to feel exposed—to be paraded in front of others and scrutinized for how we look, act, and what we say. We wonder if we have spinach between our teeth (or chocolate cookies stuck to our molars) as we offer the message that’s been entrusted to us. Will they laugh at us? Will they listen? Will the insecurities show through our coordinating ensemble?

It’s lonely to feel concealed—to be masked from view and not really feel known or understood. We wonder if who we are is enough and fear what might happen if we are called upon to share. Will they laugh at us? Will they listen? Will the pounding heart and wobbly knees show through our security blanket?

Do you feel paralyzed in your ability to break free from a mindset, circumstance, or sin? Do you ache for a better country yet find yourself in wandering desert? Is your heart tethered to despair as hope faintly flickers?

Sometimes we feel lost in times of transition. Sometimes our faith is shaken as painful circumstances scrap at our heels.

Yet, as we remember that we are not orphans but daughters, not paupers but heirs, not abandoned but Beloved, our posture changes—even if our situation does not.

I hope you enjoyed these favorite reads and writes from 2017. I’d love to hear what some of your favorite reads and/or writes were.

P.S. This is my last post of the year, but we’re looking forward to finding more grace in the unraveling, together, in 2018. See you then!

Reading People* is a book for those who want to better understand various personality frameworks, without delving into hard-to-understand research books. Bogel obviously did a lot of research for this book, but then boiled it down into manageable pieces. Within its pages, Bogel provides a sampling of some of the most well-known personality indicators like: The Five Love Languages, The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Keirsey’s Temperaments, Introverts/Extroverts, The Clifton StrengthsFinger, and my personal favorite, The Enneagram. While this book isn’t a light read, it does bring to light the basics of each of these indicators to help readers better understand themselves and those around them.

One of my biggest takeaways from it, was to be aware that people’s behavior is deeply rooted in the way they are hard-wired. For example, there are some people who don’t often answer questions like, “What do you think of this?” or “Would you like to help out in this way?” After reading the sections on introverts and extroverts, it made me realize that talking to others on demand is not something these people are comfortable with, as introverts. They aren’t trying to be rude, they just have different comfort levels when it comes to communication.

Another fascinating discovery was when Bogel talked about how various churches can be more introverted or extroverted in nature. I recently spoke at a Moms’ Group where the pastors greeted us at the front door with smiles, kind words, and worship music playing. I loved it! I thought it was thoughtful and hospitable. However, after reading this book, it made me aware that more introverted types might want to sneak in another door rather than pass through the “welcome party.”

My family and I often end of talking about personality types over the holidays, so why not throw some more food-for-thought into the mix with this interesting read? If you’re fascinated by the way people are wired, than this book is for you.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

If you follow along on Instagram Stories, than you know about our covert operation to locate Annie’s book at Target. My daughter and I had lots of fun documenting the mission and telling another shopper about our friend’s book being on the shelf!

Since this book has 100 devotions in it, I have not read the whole thing, but I’m enjoying the quick, to-the-point insights that Annie shares. And I’m realizing that bravery isn’t necessarily one great big thing, but a lot of little, daily things that add up over a lifetime. I think this book would be great for anyone on your list who needs a boost of bravery (high school senior, someone facing a health challenge, a new parent, someone who is moving, and the list goes on and on).

The moment you take that first step, little seeds of courage begin to sprout in your heart. -Annie F. Downs, pg. 11 of 100 Days to Brave

In case you missed it, and to learn more about this gem, here is my interview with Annie about this book (we talk about some other fun and funny things too, like: “special” book spines, why we found ourselves at a closed down amusements park, and the crazy ride of the writing life).

If you’ve been around for a bit, than you know that I’m a fan of this book. In fact, I was honored to write an official endorsement for it:Thank God that Jesus is not who I made Him out to be in high school—a roller coaster Deity that was hormonal and enjoyed grounding me if I crossed the line. Stolen Jesus is delightful freedom to all those who have ever been burned by fakes, phonies, or counterfeits of the True Savior. Come away from the crazy by entering Jami’s crazy as you snort with laughter, cry with relief, and uncover Real Jesus in all His glory.

This book is one of the funniest I have read, yet also challenged me to think about faith, grace, and behavior in different ways. Jami’s confessions throughout the book make for an entertaining, page-turning experience as she introduces the reader to the freedom readily available, in Christ.

Each of the books listed in this post are not for Christians only, especially this one. So many people have a skewed view of Jesus because of the way we sinful humans act. But Jesus, the Real Jesus, is unchanging and more loving and powerful than we realize.

Well, there you have it…three very different books to read over the holidays. Let me know what you think of them (and after you read them, if you’d be so kind as to leave a review of them, that really helps authors out).

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’d love to hear how you like to unwind during the holidays.

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welcome

Hi, I'm Katie (a Modern Martha, wife, and mom to five). I'm so glad you're here! Let's enjoy some cut-to-the-chase conversation over hot or iced tea, as we find grace in the unraveling of life (together). Let's exchange try-hard striving for hope-filled freedom as we settle into our position as a doer and a daughter—created by a Loving Father.
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